Returning player on a new account. I like to focus on one job especially now since I have to do a decades worth of content. I have narrowed my choices to Nin and Blu. I have always enjoyed Nin so I know I will like it if I go that route. Blu has me really interested though. It requires a lot of work so I want to try and figure out if there is a chance I will like it better now before I put any more work into it.

Just hit 30 and have most of my spells up to 20. I know the job is powerful so that isn't an issue really. I am wondering about things like MP and how much time I will need to spend resting.

Also currently the job feels more like a Blm with Physical based spells then a melee with spells. Most of the time my weapon is unused because I am better off spaming my spells. Does this change later? I am amazed with the job at this point. I soloed a tough wind elemental in my teens. Something I haven't even thought of doing with any other job but even after that there is still something that doesn't feel right. Honestly I think it is the amount of casting I am doing at this point. Part of what I really like about Nin is the high attack speed. I don't expect that kind of attack rate from blu but I don't want to feel like a Blm.

I am fine with the odd special fight that calls for something like spell spam. Its no different then any other job. Some NM type stuff requires a special strategy to win. However I don't want to always have to spam spells. This is the reason I don't play Pup, I love the job, the weapons and the pet options. I can't stand spaming JAs all day. I think it is because it feels less like strategic play and more like press buttons A C and Z to win.

Is there anything you would say makes Blu better than Nin? I know this is all opinion but peoples opinions of a job are better then me playing a guessing game of what a job will be like later. I will be spending the majority of my time in a duo with a dnc. Anything else I do is likely to be low man type thing unless its a mission that requires more people. Blu sounds like it works great for this type of thing but so does Nin. So I guess the question is there anything solo/duo/lowman that a Blu can do that a Nin can't and is there anything in the same situation that a Nin can do that a Blu can't?

If you don't want to cast, don't play BLU. You never get to the point where you aren't casting spells.

Mathematically, my typical damage layout was about 35% melee, 15% weaponskill, 50% spell damage. This is from a lot of parsed data over time. So, if you wanna auto-attack, BLU is not for you.

That said, BLU can do a lot of things NIN can't. BLU is the best healer in abyssea aside from White Mage thanks to having two very nice cures. BLU has a lot of stuns and enfeebles that NIN doesn't. BLU is a better proccer (for yellow) and makes Azure Light easier than NIN. BLU has AoE support spells like stoneskin, erase, etc that NIN does not. BLU can self-haste itself, NIN cannot. IMO, BLU is a better damage dealer than NIN, both inside of abyssea and outside.

A high level BLU can heal itself (with weaponskills and magic), control fights, deal damage, etc. A high level BLU can mass-pull 20~ mobs at a time in Abyssea and AoE them all-- Ninja can't do that.

NIN is more evasive, a better 'tank' than BLU, can proc red more easily, and feeds the enemy less TP. (This is only relevant on NMs, as BLU's Delta Thrust applies -10tp/tick to non-NMs, rendering them TP-less).

In terms of 'what you can do'... by default NIN can tank/solo easier, and BLU can DD/Support/Crowd Control/Heal/Enfeeble/Everything Else better. But here's the thing: BLU can tank and solo too, you just have to gear and set spells for it. Throw a NIN at a big Abyssea NM and, without preparation, it'll dodge all day. BLU won't.

But as a BLU, you can still stack evasion. Evasion Swords + Auroral Drape (AoE Blind, -60 acc to enemies) + Spiral Spin + Evasion Bonus trait etcetc... suddenly, you use your magic, and a BLU can evasion tank just fine. Throw in lots of stuns and actinic burst (short term, high potency blind) to get shadows back up, self heals, sanguine blade...you can totally make it work. I'd know, I've done it.

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As both a BLU and NIN main (before), I would suggest BLU. BLU can do most of what NIN can do if you play strategically and use your spells right, and it can do some things NIN can't touch. It doesn't spend a lot of time resting at high levels.

Of course, if you want to be a melee and not cast, BLU is a poor choice: It's a mage that melees, not a melee that casts. Everything special about Blue Mage comes from it's spells and the traits/buffs they offer.

Spell usage does get less spammy later on, as 'Early BLU' is basically just Headbutt -> Bludgeon repeat until dead. You get used to little combos, like Benthic Typhoon (Single hit, Def/M.def down) to Sanguine Blade, skillchains, flash or stun into shadows, and so on. There are a lot of spells which are really useful in very niche scenarios, ways to be tricky, etc. If you're just worried that BLU is mindless spammy, it's really not the case later on, once you have more than a couple spells worth casting.

Spell usage does get less spammy later on, as 'Early BLU' is basically just Headbutt -> Bludgeon repeat until dead. You get used to little combos, like Benthic Typhoon (Single hit, Def/M.def down) to Sanguine Blade, skillchains, flash or stun into shadows, and so on. There are a lot of spells which are really useful in very niche scenarios, ways to be tricky, etc. If you're just worried that BLU is mindless spammy, it's really not the case later on, once you have more than a couple spells worth casting.

Edited, Mar 18th 2012 1:05am by ItsAMyri

Actually that helps a lot because it is part of my problem. It is nearly mindless at this point. The fun I have had with the job is doing things that aren't mindless like stunning Tp attacks, putting things to sleep so I can go heal/cure myself, pulling 3 ghouls by sleeping 2 so I don't have to run back after the first is dead to get more...

I think I am going to keep trying the blu for a bit longer and see how it goes.

On my server Blu also has the bonus of being a little less popular so that is something to think about... there are Ninjas everywhere.

I started with BLM then DRK, when BLU came out I found it to be exactly what I was looking for.

The thing about BLU is it takes a great deal of work, nomatter how fast you level you have to put in the time to learn the spells you need. Compare to other jobs that you can pretty much throw money at to get all you need.

Once you have put in the time to learn the spells you need and spend time customizing gear sets you will find your BLU can have value in any situation.

Yeah, the one downside to BLU is that no matter how rich you are or how much help you get, you still have to farm your spells. Spellfarming can get really tedious.

Some of the harder or more dangerous spells are actually fun to farm. Spells like Ice Break where you let a statue melee you for an hour and cycle through it's 9001 tp moves, not so much.

Also, it's very inventory heavy. I carried like 8 rings, 5 body armors, 6 capes, 5 pairs of shoes, 5 belts... you get the idea. A set for basic melee (haste), a set for STR/DEX spells, STR spells, MAB set for nukes/sanguine, MND set for healing, AGI set for benthic typhoon, WS sets for Savage Blade, Vorpal Blade, and Sanguine (Which is MAB/INT), hMP set...

I'd say BLU really 'takes off' once you start getting your second set of nukes, Frenetic Rip, Hysteric Barrage, Disseverment, etc. It then takes off again 76+.

Don't be discouraged if you feel kinda weak for a while, I got all frustrated around 75 due to uncapped skills (abyssea) and the fact that the job just wasn't doing what I wanted it to... but it really takes off in the 80's and once I got all capped up, it became my favorite job in the game.

I don't think anyone has a main job nowdays. Saying that you can't aprove or disprove blu until 40+. The main JA of blu is Chain Afinety. Knocking the job or giving up on it before you can do a solo Skillchain would be like giving up on sam before level 30 mediate.

Blu is the most gear dependent job, thats for sure. Unlike ninja, where you can kill most things. Ninja kills slow, To me thats tedious. In addition you stated you don't like doing the same thing over and over.

Blu gives you the chance to change the playstyle of your job when you get burned out more than most jobs.

You can be a heavy DD, then be a nuker, become a tank or go on a rampage and be an AOE killer. If you want to zerg a BCNM or KS 30,your two hour at 90 can kill it in 30-40 seconds. Lets see a ninja do that.

Get blu to 40, then Red Lotus Blade > Jet Stream. If you don't like Blu after that, go ahead and be yet another ninja.

Seriously Blu is nearly broken at 99, I've Charged Whiskered burned stuff in abyssea to speed up Key Item Farming, I can heal, DD, nuke, tank even. Outside abyssea you do lose a lot of power, but now with MP sources in so many slots and Battery Charge, Blu doens't have to hold back as much as it used to. I just got Blu body +2, so I can get 2 tic from body, 1 trait, 1 searc subligar, 3 from Battery Charge and not really sacrifice any power while still getting decent MP recovery. (well, the subligar do suck, for everything but the 1 tic mp,) I havn't even gotten the hands/feet set for another 1 tic..

And like the above poster states, If you are not flexible to level several jobs you will burn out and die, My idiot friend Flashbangx, went Blu onry and quit, because he was bored after 4 months of his Blu only stance(He had played for 3-4 years). while i just leveled my 13th 90+ job and i'm still having fun

Good stuff here, and I think I am going to keep playing Blu until I get tired of leveling it or decide I don't like it.

I am not worried about the inventory problem. I played a ninja before a quit and between all the tools and the various pieces for different stuff the job took a lot of space. Spell learning doesn't bother me that much providing the spell isn't being a nightmare. In my case pollen. Level 32 now and I have had bees use pollen so many times and still haven't gotten it. Most of the others I learn within 1 to 3 times of it being used although getting the critters to use the attack is sometimes a bit tricky.

I also don't mean to say I will never play any other jobs. Its just that there is an insane amount of content to try and get through and I would rather focus on that for now. I plan on leveling Ninja no mater what some day just maybe not right now.

In my experience the heal and buff spells are the most annoying to learn

____________________________

lolgaxe wrote:

When it comes to sitting around not doing anything for long periods of time, only being active for short windows, and marginal changes and sidegrades I'd say FFXI players were the perfect choice for politicians.

If you haven't done so already at least get NIN to 49, as you'll want that no matter what job you choose. While you're sitting on the brink of 50, you might as well get your AF out of the way, and maybe by the time that's all said and done you'll either love or hate NIN enough to make your choice.

If you want to focus on content, BLU seems more versatile. If you're in a small PuG and don't have a lot to work with, you can fill the role of DD, stunner, healer, tank, debuffer, whatever.

If you want to get into EXP groups (at Abyssea levels- I don't know what low levels are like now), BLU is more in demand. If you want to get into endgame PuGs, both are reliably in demand (NIN might pull ahead a bit in Abyssea, not sure about other events).

If you want a cheap job to start with, go BLU. Spells are free to learn, you can put off shelling out (or spamming the BCNM) for Utsusemi until twice as long, and you aren't as dependent on consumables. Its downside (from an economic standpoint) is that if you want to fill as many different roles as possible to your full potential, you need to buy LOT of gear.

If you haven't done so already at least get NIN to 49, as you'll want that no matter what job you choose. While you're sitting on the brink of 50, you might as well get your AF out of the way, and maybe by the time that's all said and done you'll either love or hate NIN enough to make your choice.

If you want to focus on content, BLU seems more versatile. If you're in a small PuG and don't have a lot to work with, you can fill the role of DD, stunner, healer, tank, debuffer, whatever.

If you want to get into EXP groups (at Abyssea levels- I don't know what low levels are like now), BLU is more in demand. If you want to get into endgame PuGs, both are reliably in demand (NIN might pull ahead a bit in Abyssea, not sure about other events).

If you want a cheap job to start with, go BLU. Spells are free to learn, you can put off shelling out (or spamming the BCNM) for Utsusemi until twice as long, and you aren't as dependent on consumables. Its downside (from an economic standpoint) is that if you want to fill as many different roles as possible to your full potential, you need to buy LOT of gear.

Edited, Mar 21st 2012 10:47am by RizzoRazzle

Nin is 44, Blu is 37. I already have Utsusemi: Ni. My wife and I duo Royal Jelly when we have enough seals.

Because I have had Nin to 75 before I know I enjoy the job I am just trying to see if I like Blu more. Many other jobs I don't mind leveling up to see if I like them because they don't take much work to level. Sam, Pld, Bst, Dnc, Thf... etc all have low costs to level for a long time. Blu doesn't have the cost of gil but the time investment is much larger then most other jobs. I can't really gimp myself and see if I like it or not because that isn't really playing Blu then.

I can say for sure that I won't be doing much VW stuff. It just doesn't interest me. My wife and I plan to focus on missions and quests. Also a bit of NM hunting and farming stuff (we actually like doing these things).

Sales pitch time heh.. First, blu is an amazing DD. they are great at fast damage, can heal, buff and enfeeble, all for some of the lowest mp costs in the game. Sure earlier on things may be a bit slower, pre 65ish, but they only pick up from there. At 99 I can kill mobs with a single ws and spell. The ws will do about 600dmg, nothing much, but the spell, amorphic spikes will chain with chain affinity for about 1800 damage and the resulting skillchain of 1800+ netting over 4000 damage in about 2 seconds. And you can do this roughly every 3 minutes. If you are fighting mobs weak to piercing, like bats let's say, I was doing the same as combo and the spell was landing for 3500 and resulting chain of the same.

Now you may be thinking you need amazing gear to achieve this. Sadly, I have pretty standard gear, some af, af2, and 1 piece of af3+2. Otherwise more generic gear, heck I still use an o hat. Blu is also amazingly flexible. We can be nukers, decent healers, fast dds, and not bad blink tanks. And thats all as sub dnc, so no utsusemi.

We get an amazing shadow spell, occultation. It grants 7-8 shadows based on skill. We can also aid that every 10-20 mins base on merits. We also have a 5 min 3 mp refresh, 5 min 15% haste, can have auto-refresh, 5% triple attack as well as a slew of other traits. Blu is just an amazing job. The only downside is that you will have to carry rr and warp items. And if you are liberal in your casting, you will not have to rest often. Hope this helps you.

Returning player on a new account. I like to focus on one job especially now since I have to do a decades worth of content. I have narrowed my choices to Nin and Blu. I have always enjoyed Nin so I know I will like it if I go that route. Blu has me really interested though. It requires a lot of work so I want to try and figure out if there is a chance I will like it better now before I put any more work into it.

Just hit 30 and have most of my spells up to 20. I know the job is powerful so that isn't an issue really. I am wondering about things like MP and how much time I will need to spend resting.

Also currently the job feels more like a Blm with Physical based spells then a melee with spells. Most of the time my weapon is unused because I am better off spaming my spells. Does this change later? I am amazed with the job at this point. I soloed a tough wind elemental in my teens. Something I haven't even thought of doing with any other job but even after that there is still something that doesn't feel right. Honestly I think it is the amount of casting I am doing at this point. Part of what I really like about Nin is the high attack speed. I don't expect that kind of attack rate from blu but I don't want to feel like a Blm.

I am fine with the odd special fight that calls for something like spell spam. Its no different then any other job. Some NM type stuff requires a special strategy to win. However I don't want to always have to spam spells. This is the reason I don't play Pup, I love the job, the weapons and the pet options. I can't stand spaming JAs all day. I think it is because it feels less like strategic play and more like press buttons A C and Z to win.

Is there anything you would say makes Blu better than Nin? I know this is all opinion but peoples opinions of a job are better then me playing a guessing game of what a job will be like later. I will be spending the majority of my time in a duo with a dnc. Anything else I do is likely to be low man type thing unless its a mission that requires more people. Blu sounds like it works great for this type of thing but so does Nin. So I guess the question is there anything solo/duo/lowman that a Blu can do that a Nin can't and is there anything in the same situation that a Nin can do that a Blu can't?

BLU at endgame lv is a lot more melee/WS dmg job than spam spell job, for following reasons: 1. You gain access to DW3 and triple attack job trait, and access to empy weapons, making melee/WS dmg sky rock. 2. Main current events, abby/VW, all benefits crit-hit WS/melee to an unfair point. New event Nyzul uncharted also benefits melee/WS dmg with embrava. 3. BLU spells dmg is weak against higher lv mob in general, so they're not worth casting.

At higher lv in Abby/VW/Nyzul uncharted your dmg will come from melee/WS dmg the most, occasionally need to stun the mob. If that's what you're looking for, you can go for it.

Also this game is pretty much pressing buttons AC and Z to win regardless what job you played, and very little strategy XD

I don't play NIN, and I don't know what you mean by "better". So I can't give you answer for it. But I can tell you NIN is a superior Abby job just because it has more red proc, but yellow proc for BLU isn't all that needed. Besides red proc in abby and lack of Migawari, BLU is more useful than NIN IMO. Some lowman/solo situations you may need Migawari on NIN, but everything else BLU can do what NIN can just fine(solo/lowman etc), with additional access to cure, very long stun, AoE sleep and Treasure hunter job trait, all without needing to rely on SJ(NIN need to rely on SJ for those) Not to mention is a better AoE burn job than NIN. And if you want to do mission, BLU can pretty much solo/duo every single one of them.

Get blu to 40, then Red Lotus Blade > Jet Stream. If you don't like Blu after that, go ahead and be yet another ninja.

Seriously Blu is nearly broken at 99, I've Charged Whiskered burned stuff in abyssea to speed up Key Item Farming, I can heal, DD, nuke, tank even. Outside abyssea you do lose a lot of power, but now with MP sources in so many slots and Battery Charge, Blu doens't have to hold back as much as it used to. I just got Blu body +2, so I can get 2 tic from body, 1 trait, 1 searc subligar, 3 from Battery Charge and not really sacrifice any power while still getting decent MP recovery. (well, the subligar do suck, for everything but the 1 tic mp,) I havn't even gotten the hands/feet set for another 1 tic..

And like the above poster states, If you are not flexible to level several jobs you will burn out and die, My idiot friend Flashbangx, went Blu onry and quit, because he was bored after 4 months of his Blu only stance(He had played for 3-4 years). while i just leveled my 13th 90+ job and i'm still having fun

That I don't really agree lol, it's really depend on the person.

I've been playing for 3+ year with only 2 endgame jobs, and on BLU 90% of time, never quit or get bored or anything. This game has way too much to do, and way too much research+gear grind to perform properly in every situations. Then after a while new game content released and need to grind gear/research all over again, so it's always something new. I also challenge myself often such as pushing more coins in dyna solo and try to surpass BST, or challenge myself to solo NMs like Shinryu, or tanking NMs in Abby/VW etc, or holding adds that other ppl thought only PLD can do. There is a lot to practice and research+gear grind to push the job's potential to it's max, and this job is IMO, harder than majority of other jobs in that aspect...very hard to master, but once you getting close to master it(or other job too in general), the sense of accomplishment is really what made the game fun for me.

I've tried to lv Abyssea friendly jobs during Abyssea era, but the inventory problem and amount of time need to grind gear/do research/practice playing a new job in different situations is really discouraging. So in the end all other jobs stayed at lv 75 for me XD